Category Archives: Inspirational

Can you believe it’s pretty much April already?!? This year is flying by! Time definitely waits on no-one. It is my hope that those who made goals, resolutions, declarations, etc. some 85 days ago are still actively pursuing them.

That word pursue is a great word. There are a few definitions of the word. The ones I particularly like are below.

to carry on or continue (a course of action, a train of thought, an inquiry, studies, etc.).

Those definitions do not say anything about quitting err, I mean stopping. Nor do they mention anything about giving up on weight loss because of a few bad decisions.

In fact, it says just the opposite. Pursue tells you to keep going regardless of the bad decisions. It tells you to get back on track. Pursue tells you to persevere even if you don’t see the results you want…YET.

The only way you won’t see the results is if you stop pursuing what it is you said you wanted. Do something daily to get you closer to your goals. That’s all I’ve done. I did do something every day to get closer to my goals. The next day I do a just a little bit more and a little bit more.

I promise you. If you do something everyday, you’ll get there.

So no matter what’s happened in the past 84 days, it’s okay. Good or bad it’s in the past and it can’t be changed. So focus on today. Do something today to get you back in the pursuit! You still have 280 days left in this year.

It takes a lot to win. There’s no getting around that. There are no discounts for success. Success is never on sale. Winning requires preparation. I wrote about it a while ago. (Victory loves preparation)

What I found, however, is sometimes preparing to win is not enough. There have been plenty of times when my preparation to win was undone by my choices in a moment. ( i.e. I prepared my lunch for work and I still ate a calorie laden lunch in the cafeteria replete with a chocolate chip or white chocolate macadamia nut cookie(sometimes both) and a sweet tea or soda of my choice. After a couple of those moments, I realized preparing to win simply wasn’t enough. (At least for me it wasn’t.) I needed to figure out quickly how to overcome those moments.

So what did I do? I positioned myself to win. I did this by leaving my debit card at home. I did this by eating my lunch at my desk or in my car. When I had to get my lunch from the cafeteria, I brought the exact amount needed for the salad bar. ($2.98) By doing this, I was able to get through those times when preparation wasn’t enough. I don’t know if others have encountered this. But for me, it happened often during the early part of my weight loss.

It might seem a bit overboard but I had to do it. I was determined to back up my decision to lose this weight with actions that paralleled my decision.

To be honest, this still happens from time to time. Now, though, I’m better equipped to handle it. I’m positioned to win….

This year has flown by! I’m absolutely amazed that we find ourselves at the cusp of yet another year. I have to be honest. Today has been one of reflection. In reviewing my 2013 goals,I found that I didn’t accomplish all of the goals I set out to accomplish. (In fact, there were quite a few I didn’t meet!) Guilt tried to make residence in my mind but those thoughts were quickly kicked out. A lot of my goals were hit. I ran not one but two 5k races. I’ve been able to help some people find success in their weight loss. I’ve lost a good bit of body fat. So 2013 wasn’t a complete wash!

There are some of who might be in the same boat with me. You got a lot done but still feel like you could’ve done so much more. Perhaps you didn’t reach any of your 2013 goals. I understand that feeling all too well. Here’s my advice. Celebrate what you did accomplish. Understand that you’re a further along than you were this time last year. If you didn’t reach any of your goals, decide today that you will reach them. Decide, and then back up that decision with action. Make a game
plan and go from there.

What about the goals you didn’t meet? Great question! Do what I did. Make them the first goals on your list for 2014. Keep chopping the tree. I promise you if you keep chopping, the tree will fall.

Here’s to a great 2013 and an even better 2014!!!! I’m excited for the new year and hope you guys are too!

PS – Thank you all so much for following me on my journey. I never imagined this blog would have this kind of impact. For real, I started this just to keep myself accountable. Here we are a few short months later and I’m getting e-mails from people all across the country. People as far away as Israel are reading and following my blog! That is crazy to me! It’s amazing how many people win when you win. Ripples of success for sure!

Thank you all again for your encouragement, your accountability, your emails asking why I’m not writing. lol I appreciate it all!!

Like this:

This is a great time of year. We’ve officially entered the Holiday season. I’ve already seen Christmas movies on television. As wonderful as this time of year is. It’s also a dangerous time of year for weight loss. Weeks and weeks of healthy eating, working out, counting calories, etc can be undone in the last 8 – 10 weeks of the year. Especially for me. It starts with Halloween and the abundance of candy that comes with it. That gives way to my birthday. From my birthday, we speed towards Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving comes work pot-luck luncheons, department holiday luncheons & parties, sweets, egg nog, Christmas candy, etc…. The end of the year is indeed a treacherous minefield in the battle for health and wellness. If you’re not careful, the progress made throughout the year will be replaced with weight gain and feelings of guilt, shame & remorse as you head into the new year. Thus putting you behind the proverbial eight ball on January 1, 2014.

So how do you navigate this time of year? How do we make it across the minefield without stepping on a land mine? Well there’s no set way of dealing with it but listed below are some things you can do to help safely navigate the holiday season. They’re not listed in any particular order.

Water, water, water

Use smaller plates

Eat a healthy snack before going to holiday parties

Remember proper portion sizes

Create daily or weekly goals to help you maintain focus

Find an accountability partner

Limit alcohol

Don’t skip meals

Maintain fitness regimine

Keep a food journal

By incorporating some (if not all) those tips, you’ll definitely put yourself in a position to go into the new year with momentum. The goal isn’t to refrain from enjoying the holidays. However, for me, it was more important to maintain the progress I worked so hard for throughout the year.

By following these tips, I was able to maintain my weight loss through the gauntlet that is the last two months of the year. It definitely wasn’t easy but it was worth it when I met January many pounds lighter.

Enjoy the holiday season but don’t lose focus on what your goals are. Remember why you’re doing what you’re doing.

I have a special treat for you! It’s been a while since I’ve written anything. (That will be changing very soon.) Life has a way of happening at times. However you just deal with it and move on. So that’s what I’ve done.

At any rate, today’s post comes from one of my dear friends Tameka. She has made an amazing lifestyle change and I asked her to share a little bit of her story with you guys. She’s an incredible person and I’m so very proud of her.

Like this:

Rafiki: Look down there.
Simba: That’s not my father. That’s just my reflection.
Rafiki: No, look harder.
[touches the water, as it ripples Simba’s reflection changes to that of his father]
Rafiki: You see? He lives in you.
Mufasa’s ghost: Simba.
Adult Simba: Father?
Mufasa’s ghost: Simba, you have forgotten me.
Adult Simba: No. How could I?
Mufasa’s ghost: You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life.

That dialogue is from one of my favorite movies The Lion King. In that scene, Simba is wrestling with who he is and who he is. (Yes you read that right.) Who he is and who he is.
He’s Simba. A scared lion who is filled with doubt, guilt, shame, fear, and unbelief. A lion who has run away from his past mistakes and poor choices. Yet, that very same Lion is the sole heir to Pride Rock and is the rightful king. In fact, everything the sun touches is his kingdom.

How can he be both? How can he be both a king and a nomad? Full of fear yet full of strength? Which one is the real Simba? The reflection or the lion looking in the water.

A major lesson was taught in that scene. What was the lesson? There’s a difference between fact and truth. The facts were Simba abandoned his family, played a role in his father’s death, and was living a life unfitting of the King of Pride Rock. A life ripe with pain, agony, and anguish from his past.

And the truth? Well, the truth was simple. He was the rightful King of Pride Rock and had all the rights, power, privileges and authority that come with such a title. He was strong, fearless, courageous, full of valor.

You’re probably asking “What in the world does this have to do with weight loss?” I’m glad you asked! It has EVERYTHING to do with it. At one point I was the fact filled Simba. I wrestled with the same things he did – doubt, guilt, shame, fear, and unbelief. Basically, my past. Past attempts at weight loss, past bad decisions nutritionally, etc.. However, this last time, I “looked harder” in the water and saw my truth.

My truth was I was powerful beyond measure. I was a conqueror. An overcomer. Once I realized that truth, I was ready to return to my weight loss journey just as Simba returned to Pride Rock to take back his kingdom. In my case, my kingdom was my health. And I did so with confidence knowing what I was and who I was.

So whenever you feel the facts dominating your thoughts, might I suggest you remember Rafiki and Simba at the river on that clear, dark night in the jungle. If you don’t see your truth immediately (And you very well might not), it’s okay. Look again. Look harder and the reflection of truth concerning who you are will become clear.

Remember facts can change (and will change). The truth however, remains constant.